Hand punch with gauge



April 25, 1961 J. c. HENDRICKS 2,980,997

HAND PUNCH WITH GAUGE Filed July 3, 1958 INVENTOR. 12

James C. Hendricks,

BY M g M 2,980,997 HAND PUNCH wrrn GAUGE James C. Hendricks, Marengo, Ill., assignmto Mcqill Metal Products Company, Marengo, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed July s, 1958, Ser. No. 746,363

3 Claims. 01. 30-363) This invention relates to a punch for paper or other sheet material and more particularly to a punch including slidable gauge means for accurately determining the positionof holes made by the punch with respect to an edge of an article.

In the past, punches have been provided with gauge means so that a piece of paper or the like may be placed between the jaws of the punch with its edge against a stop portion of the gauge and the distance from the edge of the paper of a hole formed by the punch determined by the relative position of the gauge along the punch jaws. The distance from the edge of the paper to the hole formed by the punch is called its reach and it is obviously desirable to provide means for accurately predetermining thereach of a punch when it is to be used for a particular purpose.

In punches of the character described, it has been necessary to loosen a screw or other locking means to adjust the means forming the stop or sheet-limiting edges of the gauge. Inother punches the stop tends to become skewed or tilted with respect to the jaw edge to make it difficult to adjust the same, and so that when a sheet is inserted between the punch jaws, its edge will not be aligned perpendicular to the jaw edges. As a result, the distance of the hole punch from the edge will not be accurately indicated by the position of the gauge. punched along the edge of a sheet and causes subsequent difliculty in binding such punched sheets.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a punch or similar tool on which the reach thereof can be easily yet accurately controlled without the necessity of using a separate adjusting means such as'a tightening screw.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a gauge structure associated with a punch which structure has a stop edge that is maintained perpendicular to a line along which the gauge is adjusted. so that a series of holes can be punched which are uniformly spaced from the edge of a sheet of paper or similar article. 1

A feature of the invention is the provision of a slidable gauge member having a'stop slidable along a jaw of a punch and with a flexible tab extending therefrom and cooperating with the pintle of the punch to positively seat the stop in positions along the jaw without the stop becoming jammed, while at the same time permitting it to be moved easily into different positions and thus vary the reach of the punch.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of a slotted guide plate into which a flexible tab of the gauge member fits and which serves to guide the tab as the gauge is slid to different positions along the punch jaw thus preventing the gauge stop portion from becoming skewed or canted with respect to the edges of the punch jaw.

This results in misalignment of a series of holes i United States atent In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a punch embody- I a stop portion for limiting the reach of the punch. The

gauge stop fits over a flexible tongue and has bent-over ears engaging sides of the female jaw with edges which serve to limit a sheet inserted into the punch. The stop extends between the tongue and the female jaw so that the position of the stop'portion of the gauge member determines the position of the hole formed by the punch from the edge of an inserted sheet. The gauge .member includes a flexible tab extending rearwardly and passing through a slot in a guide plate. Cooperation of the plate and the tab holds the stop portion aligned with respect to the jaw edges as the gauge is slid from one position to another. This makes it easier to move the gauge and also makes for more accurate positioning. The flexible tab bears against the pintle of the punch and is displaced from the plane along which the stop portion slides so that the pintle and the tab operate .to press the stop portion against the flexible tongue and thus firmly seat the gauge in position.

Fig. 1. shows a hand punch 10 which includes the male jaw 11 and the female jaw 12 each of which have ap propriate handle portions 14 and 13 respectively. .The jaws pivot about a pintle 16 having a central sleeve portion 17 (Fig. 2). An appropriate spring 18 is provided between the handles 13 and 14.

A flexible tongue 19 is positioned between the jaw members and is mounted at 21 adjacent the pintle 16. As shown in Fig. 2, the tongue 19 is provided with an opening 22 adjacent its free end to accommodate the die 23 of the male jaw as the punch closes to fit the die into the seat portion 24 of the female jaw 12.

A gauge member 26, shown in perspective in Fig. 4, fits slidably over the tongue 19.; The gauge member includes a forward stop portion 27 which has a pair of turned down ears 28 and 29 and a rearwardly extending flexible tab 31. As shown in Figs. land 2, the gauge member 26 has its ear portions 28 and 29 fitting in close engagement against'the opposite edges of the female jaw 12.

A guide plate 32 is positioned in the hollow portion between the jaws 11 and 12 and is provided with a slot I 33 which is just large enough to accommodate the flexible tab 31 of the guide member. The plate 32 has a lip portion 32a which limits the opening of the jaws by serving as a stop for internal shoulder 11a of jaw 11.

Each of the outer edges of female jaw 12 is provided with marking indicia such as 34. In operation of the punch, gauge 26 slides over the tongue 19 and the pointers 28a and 29a are positioned at indicia showing the distance between the forward edges of the ears 28 and 29 and the hole formed by the punch die 23 when a sheet is inserted between the jaws under the tongue 19 so that its edge bears against the forward edges of such ears. This distance is referred to as the reach of the punch and is the distance between the edge of the sheet and the punched hole. This determines the binding margin of punched pages.

It is naturally important that where several holes are punched along the edge of a page they should be spaced uniformly from that edge. In order that a series of holes be uniformly spaced for a given setting of the gauge 26,

it is important that the stop portion 27 does not become skewed or canted. In other words, the line between the forward edges of cars 28 and 29 should remain perpendicular to the indicia-carrying edges of the female jaw 12 at all times and in all positions. Canting is avoided by the provision of the guide plate 32 which cooperates with the flexible tab 31 as the gauge 26 is slid from one position to another and confines the tab so that it slides along a straight line.

The tab 31 fits over the sleeve portion 17 of the pintle 16 and is displaced upwardly from the plane through which the stop portion 27 slides so that the tab bears against the upper edge of slot 33 in guide plate 32. Since the tab is flexible, a downward pressure urges the stop and a portion of the tab against the tongue 19 and an opposite pressure urges tab 31 against the upper edge of slot 33 to positively frictionally position the gauge member. It is advantageous to accomplish this without the necessity of loosening and tightening a set screw as must be done in other punches. Such positive positioning also tends to prevent the stop portion 27 from becoming canted during use of the punch or during the sliding of the gauge from one position to another. Since the stop 27 is held in alignment at all times, it cannot inadvertently become wedged at a fixed position along the jaw but rather is capable of being slid easily from one position to another.

The present invention thus provides a relatively simple and inexpensive gauge carrying punch which insures consistent and accurate positioning of holes with respect to the edge of a sheet inserted therein. The provision of the slotted guide plate cooperating with the tab portion of the gauge member prevents the gauge from becoming canted so that the member can be easily moved from one position to another. This also insures uniform positioning of successive holes for a given gauge setting. The provision of a flexible tab cooperating with the pintle of the punch provides a positive positioning action for the stop portion of the gauge which also contributes to accuracy and uniformity of performance.

I claim:

1. A punch including in combination, a pair of jaw members, a pintle connecting said jaw members, a tongue extending between said jaw members and connected at one end thereto, a gauge member having a forward stop portion including a pair of turned-over ears, said stop portion fitting over said tongue with said ears engaging opposite sides of one of said jaw members so that said gauge is slidable along said tongue toward and away from said pintle, said gauge member further including a rearwardly extending flexible tab bearing against the surface of said pintle to provide pressure tending to seat said stop portion in positions along said one jaw member.

2. A punch including in combination, a pair of jaw members having die portions thereon, a pintle connecting said jaw members for movement so that said die portions come into engagement, gauge means extending between said jaw members and having a flexible member slidable between said jaw members, said flexible member having a forward stop portion movable toward and away from said pintle to limit the reach of the punch, said stop portion having ears extending along opposite sides of one of said members, said flexible member having a rearwardly extending tongue portion, and guide means engaging said tongue portion for flexing the same to frictionally hold said flexible member in position, said guide means including portions for engaging the edges of said tongue portion and cooperating with said ears to prevent canting of said flexible member and to permit longitudinal movement thereof.

3. A punch including in combination, male and female jaw members, a pintle connecting said jaw members, a flexible tongue positioned between said jaw members and connected at one end thereof adjacent said pintle, said tongue having its free end adjacent the open end of said jaws with an opening therein to accommodate the die portion of said male jaw member, indicia marked along the edges of said female jaw, gauge means including a stop portion having a pair of turned over ears fitting over said tongue and engaging the indicia along said edges of said female jaw member, said stop portion being slidable along said tongue with the forward edges of said ears serving to limit the reach of said punch, said gauge means further including a flexible tab slidable along said pintle and bearing against the same to press said stop portion against said tongue, and guide means positioned between said pintle and said stop portion and having a slot therein for slidably accommodating and flexing said tab to frictionally position the same and so that slidable motion thereof is guided along a straight line essentially parallel to the edges of said female jaw, whereby canting of said stop member with respect to said edges and consequent jamming of said stop member is prevented.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 15,719 Whitney Nov. 6, 1923 85,575 Drake Jan. 5, 1869 226,358 Schatfer Apr. 6, 1880 1,162,440 Bernard Nov. 30, 1915 1,418,474 Rosenburg June 6, 1922 2,404,985 Rembold July 30, 1946 

